Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Myanmar's second city and de facto cultural capital, Mandalay is one of the country's
“big four” destinations. Such popularity is well deserved, since the city and its sur-
rounding area constitute the country's densest concentration of sights - many areas
would be proud to boast of a former royal capital, but here you'll find a full four of
them, all within cycling distance of each other. Mandalay is, of course, the main centre
ofaffairs;initiallyunassumingdespitetheexotic-soundingname,it'sarealgrowerthat
tempts many an independent traveller to stay longer than expected.
Thoughmosttravellers onlystayforanightortwo,there'senoughin
Mandalay
tokeepyou
busyforaweek.Theappealhereliesnotjustinthecity'ssights-ascendMandalayHill,vis-
it the reconstructed palace, hunt down the Mahamuni Paya or any number of other Buddhist
monuments - but also in the opportunities for eating, shopping and entertainment that are
hardtofindelsewhere inMyanmar.AsingledaycouldseeyouwolfingdownafriedEnglish
breakfast, heading tothe driving range topractise (orget started on)yourgolfswing, follow-
ingupaniceswimwithaThailunchandsomedurianicecream,shoppingforgoldleaf,then
catching a marionette show or the famed Moustache Brothers in action.
You'll need two days, at the very minimum, to exhaust the many sights lying further afield.
Just south of Mandalay is
Amarapura
, a former capital boasting the world's longest teak
footbridge - a truly splendid creation, and especially photogenic during the rising or setting
of the sun. Further on is
Inwa
, capital on at least four occasions but now essentially rural in
nature; after taking a short ferry ride to access the main area, most travel around this bucolic
village by horse-drawn carriage. Crossing the Ayeyarwady bridges from Inwa will bring you
to
Sagaing
, yet another former capital, and one possessed of a stupa-studded hill that rivals
the famous onevisible way tothe northinMandalay.Some way northofMandalay,andusu-
ally accessed by ferry from the city, is little
Mingun
, a delightful village which would have
been home to the world's largest stupa had certain things gone according to plan. The part
that
did
get built is still a grand sight, and you can also content yourself with the world's
largest functional bell.
